Elemental Ranger
by telmeastory
Summary: He was the first, the original. All others were a model based on him. But that was a long time ago. He has been trapped, shifting through time, seeking something to hold him in place since.
1. Chapter 1: The Crash

It had been a long time. Time didn't flow typically for him. It hadn't for quite some time. Instead, he had been trapped, just floating in this space.

Of course being trapped had given him a great deal of time to think and reflect. It had not been hard, just different. And he found himself going over the same thoughts, time and again. He considered how he had come here, but over time that memory began to fade. He remembered his friends, but they too faded. He tried to move, but he was stuck. He was never hungry or thirsty, never tired nor excited, not happy nor sad. He just was. It left him lost and confused in many ways. Through time, or what he felt like must be time, even those feelings began to fade. His ability to think, to focus, to be; all of it began to fade. He felt he was losing himself.

And he didn't even know if he hated it.

Then the crash came, followed by the light.

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Trini was on her way home from another great day with her friends at the Angel Grove Juice Bar. They had enjoyed hanging out while Rocky had been doing some lessons. They'd even had a chance to catch up with the new folks in town, Adam, Aisha, Jason. She hadn't been a ranger for quite some time, which felt strange, especially now that she was back in Angel Grove. Still, things felt right when she had hung out with everyone.

But it had been getting dark, so she had made her way home. She didn't want her parents to worry about her. Whenever she came home after dark, they were worried. It didn't matter that she was now 22 and had just graduated college. She was in town before heading off to Harvard Law School in the Fall, but her parents were still a bit overbearing in their own way. Of course it didn't matter. She still loved them and would do all she could to make them happy.

So here she was, strolling home. She was smiling and almost skipping on her way. She looked up at the sunset as she passed the park when a bright flash of light and a shock of the ground shaking took her breath. She heard a loud scream and gave away all other thoughts, tearing off through the park toward the noise.

As she arrived, she found a large crater. It had taken out an ancient oak tree which had stood on a hill. The hill itself had been inverted as whatever had landed had demolished it entirely. As Trini peered down into the gap, she saw something sitting at the bottom. She cast a quick glance around, searching for anyone who might see her, before sliding down into the crater herself. She had no idea what exactly she was doing, but she knew someone was in trouble and she needed to help.

As she reached the bottom, she found what appeared to be a smashed meteor. It was crumbling and still smoking from its location at the foot of the crater. Trini walked carefully around it, looking for anyone in trouble. Just as she was ready to give up, turning to begin climbing out of the crater again, she heard a groan. It was not at all what she had expected to hear down in the bottom of the giant crater with a smoking meteor and no other living beings. She turned back and watched in stunned silence as someone slithered out from beneath the rock. Trini gasped and rushed over.

"Are you alright?"

Whomever it was seemed stunned by seeing her. She was not sure exactly why, but her eyes met this guy's. He had hazel eyes, brunette hair, and a square chin. Trini couldn't tear her eyes away when she heard him gasp.

"Help me, please?" With that he collapsed and Trini rushed down to him, dragging him the rest of the way from under the boulder. She carefully slipped his arm over her shoulder and began dragging his unconscious form to the top of the crater.

As she reached the top, she had no idea why but knew the nearing sirens would mean bad news for this man. Instead, she hoisted him higher on her shoulders. He was a tall guy, and powerfully built. She wasn't sure she could carry him that far, but as she lifted him he seemed nearing weightless. She knew she didn't want to wait around for the sirens to see him, so instead she began to make her way back to her house. She did not care what happened when she got home, but knew this guy needed her help.

Upon her arrival, Trini was met by silence. The windows were all dark as she slunk in with her guest. Not knowing what else to do, she slipped upstairs into her room and dropped him on the bed. He slumped down and Trini, exhausted from the excitement, collapsed herself on the ground beside the bed. She slung her arm up and dragged a pillow of the bed before fading into sleeps embrace.

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Trinis woke the next morning lying on her own bed. She was unsure of what to make of that, knowing she had fallen asleep on the floor. When she suddenly remembered why she had given in to sleeping on her won floor, she felt confused. Why had she given up her bed to a complete stranger, why had she brought him home? More than that, why was she in bed with…

Wait, she was in the bed alone. Quickly swinging her arms around informed her that she was indeed alone. She let out a sigh as she sat up. In that instant, she realized she had just heard the water turn off in her bathroom. She held her breath as she waited. When she heard the door creak open, she looked up to see him enter. She found herself staring into the same hazel eyes which had mesmerized her before, though she still had no idea why. She smiled at him as he slipped in.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean ta wake ya."

"You didn't. I was wondering how I ended up on the bed."

"I woke up shortly after ya brought us here and moved you t'ere. Ya did not seem comfortable on d'e floor." He spoke in a strange, but comforting way. She recognized the accent as something from the British Isles…no, it was Irish. She'd know that accent anywhere. She smiled at him again.

"That's alright. Thank you. And I see you found the shower." Here she paused, noting that he the same clothes he had collapsed in but they seemed clean. It seemed incredibly strange and Trini had no idea how to react. Noting the look on her face and hoping to cut off any questions, he jumped in.

"Indeed I did, it felt nice after so long."

A silence fell between the two. Not sure what else to do and feeling his gaze burning into her, Trini stood and stretched. As she did, she noted she was still wearing last night's clothes. Well at least this man had not done anything, not that she expected him to. For some reason, she trusted him. She let out a small laugh at her thoughts, which seemed to catch his attention. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well this is all a bit strange, sorry. I'm Trini Kwan. And you are?" This seemed to befuddle him a bit. He looked lost for an instant before strolling over to take the hand she extended in his direction.

"Nice ta meet ya Trini Kwan. I'm….well, I don rightly know who I am if I'm being entirely honest." This concerned Trini and she jumped in to check his head.

"Oh no, are you alright? Did you hit your head? What happened?" He let out his own small laugh, and Trini felt a shiver run down her spine at that. She had said no more than a few words, and this guy was already messing with her head just by laughing. What the heck?

"No, lass, nothing like dat. I haven't known who I was for quite some time, actually. Not really sure when I forgot." Trini looked satisfied till she remembered the meteor.

"No, I don't think you are alright. You got hit by that giant meteor. I really should take you to the hospital." Another laugh from the Irishman.

"If twould make ya feel better, I'll go. But besides not rememberin who I am, I'm fine." Here he offered her another smile as she looked at his face. She hadn't been able to find any damage, but was concerned that he had no idea who he was. Trini wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she needed help. And since he didn't seem interested in visiting the doctor, she was going to turn to her friends instead.

"Ok, well let me get changed and we'll go find some people who can help." 'I hope' she added in her own thoughts.

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Half an hour later, Trini and the Irishman were out the door and on their way to the Juice Bar. She had texted her friends and they were going to meet her there. She hadn't really given them much, just that she needed help. As she entered, she saw the gang gathered at a table and slipped her arm into his to make sure he made it to the table as well. As she walked up, Kimberly noticed her arm in the guys and called her out on it.

"Owow, looking good Miss Kwan. Who is this tall drink of water you are showing off to all of us?"

Trini blushed, but the tall gentleman jumped in for her.

"Pleasure to meet ya all. Trini here has been so kind and I have heard you might be able ta help me out?" Kimberly's eyes opened wide when she heard the accent and was only stopped from doing anything sillier by Jason jumping up to shake the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jason, this is Kimberly."

"Nice ta meet ya."

Introductions were made all the way around the entire table. The entire gang was there, ready to help Trini and this man with the problem. They listened while Trini told them about her meteor run in and finding him, then about talking and not knowing who he was. She left out the bits about falling sleep and waking up and everything. She was enjoying the calming presence this man offered. He seemed to fall in so easily with her friends. She smiled over as he was talking to Jason and Tommy about some fighting techniques. He was standing there in jeans, a white shirt, and a leather jacket. Trini had to admit the man was attractive and the accent certainly helped. She smiled when Kimberly pulled her aside.

"Ok, for real. Whats going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you show up with a hot foreign guy who has no idea who he is. More than that, every time he talks you smile. Trini Kwan does not do that." Trini put on a serious face.

"There is nothing going on Kimberly. It is like we said. Found him in that meteor hole and he has no idea who he is. I was hoping we could figure something out to help him." Kimberly let out a sigh.

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me, be that way. I thought we were friends but…" Kimberly included a fake sniffle for effect.

"Ugh, you are so dramatic. Fine, I took him home and dropped him on the bed. I fell asleep on the floor but woke up on the bed. Apparently he put me there and went to grab a shower. And those clothes, that is what he had on when I pulled him from the meteor. You could never guess, huh." As Trini let that sink in, she saw a smile creep over Kimberly's face.

"Same bed and the shower, huh?"

"KIMBERLY!"

"Relax, I'm joking. Ok, well let's go see what we can do."

As they turned back around, they saw that Jason, Tommy, and the Irishman had moved into the ring. Trini shook her head. Boys will be boys, but this seemed like a bad idea. Tommy and Jason were two of the toughest fighters she knew. She knew they wouldn't hurt the guy, but it still didn't sit right with her. Of course she stopped worrying when the Irishman stripped down his jacket. She could see his arms bulging from beneath his shirt and a well-defined chest. It brought a grin to her face seeing Tommy and Jason get ready to fight as well.

The sparring started off slowly. Jason and Tommy were trading off one at a time. They began circling with the Irishman not even really getting into a fighting stance as they circled him. And as the swings started coming, he merely sidestepped them, barely offering an defense. She could see Tommy and Jason getting frustrated and slowly going harder and harder until Jason did manage to land a punch on the guy's cheek. The Irishman grabbed the arm before it got away and performed a simple throw, sending Jason sliding across the floor. Jason flipped up onto his feet in no time, and offered a grin at Tommy.

"Looks like we might get an actual fight after all." Tommy grinned and took his turn. Tommy managed to land a blow into the Irishman's stomach before he received a trip and a heel to his own abs. At this point, the two decided to try a two on one team up, seeing the Irishman was good and knowing they would be less likely to hurt him if they went two on one. They both jumped in and began circling. Sensing what was coming, the Irishman stripped off his shirt and threw it over to his jacket. When he did, there was a collective gasp from all onlookers. Trini felt her own breath catch in her throat.

The Irishman had several massive scars dragged across his back and chest. He looked like he had been to hell and back. Those watching were all rangers and had their own scars, but the ones they saw on him offered a new perspective even to them. At the Gasp, the Irishman looked down and saw his own torso. With a bit of a gasp himself, he grabbed his clothes and ran, springing out the door before anyone could stop him.

So the ranger gang took off to follow him, not wanting him to get away. Sure he had caught them all off guard, but they knew scars were not something to be afraid of. Still, that did not stop the talk as they ran.

"Did you see that?"

"Oh my goodness."

"How did he survive all of that?"

The questions died as they saw him standing at the edge of the park, staring at something. The gang ran up to him, Trini being the fastest as she reached him. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"Are you alright?" He didn't turn around and then Trini noticed everyone else looking right past him. Sure enough, there in the middle of the park was a monster. It was an angry looking mix between a pig and a swan and was surrounded by creatures that none of them recognized. As they watched, Trini could have sworn she heard the Irishman mutter 'Speins' under his breath, but it faded in the wind like howling coming from the creatures.

Jumping into action, the current Zeo rangers jumped forth to fight. The rest of the gang helped initially, but soon were being overwhelmed by the creatures so they backed off as the Zeo rangers morphed.

Then the fight began in earnest. Trini and the rest, including the Irishman began escorting the civilians out of harm's way. Then they heard a scream. Trini turned to see the creatures surrounding the Zeo rangers who seemed to be floundering. She wanted to run and help, but she knew there was nothing she could do. She heard the others shouting for them all to run, so she turned to look for the Irishman. She didn't see him and assumed he had run to safety. Then she turned back as she heard a sound behind her.

Climbing up from the crater was a new ranger. But he was different. Whereas all the other rangers were one specific color with various colored gloves and masks, this ranger was entirely Black. And then entirely red. And then white. And he kept changing as he stalked down toward the creatures. And as he neared the Zeo rangers, the creatures quailed in fear, cringing back from him. Trini watched in awe, wondering what kind of ranger had ever had that kind of power.

The Ranger then raised his arm and said one word.

"Leave."

At this, the creatures and the monster all instantly teleported away, leaving just the rangers. The air was still and quiet when Zordon suddenly teleported every single one of them to the Control Center, including the new ranger.

"Rangers, welcome back. I'm glad you are safe." Alpha squeaked as they appeared.

"As am I." They heard Zordon's deep voice say from his energy tube. It brought a smile to Trini's face. She had missed them all and was glad she was being included on this. And then Zordon went on.

"But we must thank this new ranger for coming to help us. Welcome Ranger. Who are you?"

As Zordon said this, the new Ranger whose colors were still shifting stood stock still, staring at the being. He slowly raised his hands to his helmet and unlocked it so that he could remove it, ready to show his face.

When he lifted it, there was s gasp of shock from all the other rangers. Before them stood the Irishman. But he seemed much different than before. He was no longer calm and peaceful and fun as Trini had remembered from everything, but anger shown in his face. And the energy radiating from him was palpable. Feeling the pressure, she suddenly understood why the creatures had left. As she watched the Irishman raised his gloved hand to point a finger at Zordon. He seemed ready to say something, but all that came out was "You."

Everyone stood stock still, watching the room until they heard Zordon let out a breath.

"Hello Liam."

There was a collective gasp again from the crowd of rangers as they realized that Zordon knew this person. Then the room fell silent as Liam Screamed and threw his helmet down.

"NOOOO!" In a flash, he transported himself away. Trini tried to move to stop him, but he was gone too fast. And in that instant, all eyes turned to face Zordon with questioning eyes. Once more Zordon let out a sigh.

"Rangers, welcome back both old and new. I am glad you are here. That man who just left is going to need your help. He is going to need the support of good friends like you. And currently he doesn't trust me."

"Zordon, why not?" Trini spoke what everyone else was wondering. After a moment's pause, Zordon offered his tale.

"In the beginning of the fight against evil, I created the first rangers. They were granted power greater than any would imagine and they were meant to be my ultimate fight against evil, to make the universe safe. As a team, their power rivaled my own. But that came from pulling the ultimate fighters. It took power to reach through time and space and pull the 5 greatest fighters with the greatest hearts the universe would ever know. So they were pulled and they came. And I granted them with that power. They were the elemental rangers."

Zordon paused, seeing each ranger begin to process what he was saying. After a moment, he continued.

"Liam came from earth, actually Ireland from your own time. He had not only heart and abilities, but spirit. He became the leader of the Elemental rangers. He was faster, stronger, more adaptable than the others. As they grew in their power, it was not long before he was as strong even as me. But evil never gives in easily. With only myself and five rangers, we were spread thin traveling the universe we wanted to save. We moved throughout, seeking to change it for the better. But there was never enough. More and more we had to spread and fight separately. I went one way, Liam another, and the rest of the team in one final direction. That was our downfall."

Zordon paused. He wasn't sure he could continue. He was the age of ancients and had what many may call the power of a god. Liam had the same power and spirit, but not the age and wisdom for it. And that is what had made what came next so unbearable.

"When we received the call, both Liam and I rushed to find the other rangers. Or better should I say what was left of them. It broke my heart, but I controlled myself. Liam gave into the pain. He lost himself in his anger, his frustration. And when I tried to stop him, he lost it toward me. He called me out on giving us just enough power, but not enough. He called me out on not being there. He called it my fault, but deep down he was blaming himself. And the anger exploded. Liam went on and rampage, nearly destroying every last bit of evil. But he was playing with fire himself and came far too close to injuring others, innocent people. So I teamed up with the other ancients in order to dim his power. We paused it for a time, so we could get him. But that time was the wrong time. In our moment, Liam was captured. He was still too strong for the forces of evil to kill him, but they trapped him in a rock frozen in time. And he was launched into space. That was nearly 2 billion years ago, and Liam has been frozen since then, but unfortunately…"

Zordon trailed off. He was not sure the rest of the rangers could understand the pain of his next statement.

"…His mind was awake the entire time."

As the room stood in silence, Trini felt a tear run down her cheek. The pain from his wounds, the anger she had seen. She almost whispered what she said next.

"Zordon, what do we do?"


	2. Chapter 2: Speins

"I'm not sure. My powers have begun to fade while his were merely frozen in time. Because of that, I have no idea where he went."

"Ai-yi-yi, and I can't track him!" Alpha exclaimed. At this, the ranger team took action. Tommy took the lead.

"Ok guys, let's go find him! Check everywhere! He has to be somewhere in Angel Grove!"

It was quiet for a minute when he said that. Fighting the frustration rising in her chest, Trini said what seemed to be hanging over the group.

"But what if he isn't?" At that, she turned and stormed over into one of the rooms housing a zord. She didn't want to be there right then. She was scared, though she really didn't know why. This guy…Liam, he had just shown up in her life. In the past 12 hours in fact. And in those 12 hours, by doing next to nothing, she had come to trust and care for him.

Yet in the instant in the Command Center, he had thoroughly terrified her. Watching his reaction to Zordon and hearing his story from Zordon, she wanted to cry for him. It was painful to hear, and she could not imagine having lived it. Well, maybe living wasn't the right word.

Then Trini heard the door to the room open and listened as quiet footsteps approached. Her head was buried in her knees as she hugged them to her chest sitting on the floor. She was trying to hide and control her sobbing, but it wasn't working. She felt the tears start to leak out when there was a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and her eyes met Kimberly's.

"Hey Trini, you ok?"

"Yeah." But she was shaking her head no. Trini wanted to say she was angry, scared, frustrated, and more. But the fact was she was just worried for Liam. And she felt she had no business worrying that much.

"I know, I'm worried about him too." Huh? Had Trini said that out loud? She looked up at Kimberly again who was just smiling at her. "Don't worry about hiding it. I've been there. I know how it feels."

Trini considered this and let out a long sigh. She was hurting and wasn't sure what, if anything, she could say next. Kimberly was her best friend, but right now she didn't trust herself to be rational about this. Luckily Kimberly saved her further embarrassment.

"Listen, why don't you go home for now. Go relax." Here Kimberly gave her a knowing smile, like she knew Trini just wanted to cry in private. "And as soon as we know anything, I'll give you a call." She smiled again, then stood and removed her hand from Trini's shoulder. She offered it back down to help Trini stand up. Trini smiled at her and wiped away the rest of the tears.

"Thanks Kimberly."

"Anytime, what are best friends for! Besides, I want a chance to get that hunk alone without you around." Kimberly winked at Trini who laughed it off as the two returned to the Command Center.

"Hey Trini, I'm-" Tommy stepped up to apologize, but Trini cut him off.

"No, you're right Tommy. And we do need to find him. I'm just worn out. I need to grab a nap first."

Tommy brightened up into a smile, as did the rest of the ranger gang.

"Ok then, you go home and we'll start the search." With a triumphant look, the team gathered and waited for Alpha to teleport them. Trini stood to the side, waiting for her turn. Once the rest of the team was gone, she stood there for her turn, till she heard Zordon's voice.

"Take care of him, Trini." Trini glanced up, not sure what to make of Zordon's words. It was too late, however, to stop and ask. She already felt herself being energized and transported home.

Upon arriving home, Trini collapsed into her bed. She thought about Liam and his smile. She thought about his accent. She thought about his eyes and the way they captured her imagination. It was silly for someone to have such an effect on her and she knew it.

Then she thought about everything else. She considered all Zordon had said. She remembered his scars, standing out on his back. She could vividly reimagine the look on his face as he faced off with Zordon. It had scared her, but not because she was scared of him. It scared her because she was scared for him.

And in that thought, Trini broke down and cried. It was something she had not done in a very long time. Not one to often give into emotions, Trini knew this one was strong. But she still had no idea why this man could affect her so much for having only known him for such a small amount of time. And that bothered her more than she wanted it to. So she cried and cried about the overwhelming feeling of everything until her body finally gave in to sleep.

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As Trini felt her dream fade, she felt as if she wanted to hang on to it for some reason. She wasn't sure why, but she remembered the color green and something that seemed like magic. None of that really mattered, however. She sat, trying to grasp the memory of the dream, but it was gone.

And then her eyes shot open as she heard a sound. Trini felt around and knew she was still in bed, but a quick turn in her bed told her it was night. She wasn't sure what to make of that. She really must have been exhausted. So she focused, pulling her mind fully awake and listened.

And she heard the shower running. What was that? She had a private bathroom, so the only one who should be running her shower was her. Had she left it on? No, she hadn't. She knew that. Maybe it was her parents?

Carefully, Trini got to her feet and walked across the room till she stood at the door. It was cracked and she could see in. Unfortunately, all she could see was the edge of the shower due to the angle, but now whoever was in there. They had not drawn the curtain all the way, from what she could see. That was going to make a mess, and Trini did not like having wet floors. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she threw open the door and strolled in.

And there, standing in the shower was Liam.

But he wasn't naked. He stood there fully clothed with the curtain wide open. And that was not what caught Trini's eye. As she stood there, coming to grasp with what she was watching, she saw the water come down, almost like it was more of a mist than a shower. And as it came to him, it would gather in drops and attack his skin and clothes. Almost like a dart, it would jab down, but never breaking or tearing anything. All that would happen is it would gather whatever dirt lay there, pull it free, and drop to the drain. It was leaving him entirely dry. Trini took all of this in and Gasped about the same time she threw the door open. All of this caused Liam to turn sharply toward her, throwing himself off balance and collapsing on the floor. As he did, the magic show with the water stopped and he then did get thoroughly soaked.

Trini rushed over, turning off the water before getting to her knees in the puddle beside him.

"I'm sorry lass, ya surprised me." He looked at her with a sheepish grin. His hair, now soaked with the rest of him, was falling down into his eyes. She couldn't help but laugh. And this seemed to help him relax. He looked around at the water.

"Ah well, I supposed I should be cleanin tis up." He stood back up and waved a hand. As he did, Trini watched mesmerized as the water flowed right off of his jacket and into the drain. The same happened with all of the water on the ground and even the drops she had felt creeping through the knees of her own jeans. As the water disappeared, the two stood up and Trini felt herself nearly fall over until Liam caught her in a hug.

"Easy there lass, ya don want ta go fallin and hurtin yaself." He smiled down at her. Trini smiled back for a moment before her brain tried to catch up with what was happening.

"What…why…how…ummm?" Liam let out a laugh which cut off her thoughts. She felt herself begin to grimace as he did that, not liking him laughing at her.

"Easy tere Trini, I'm jus saying let's find a better place to talk." And at that, he led her back out the door and over to her bed where they both sat down. Liam grinned at her. "So where would ye like ta start?"

"Trini shook her head. She had once more been lost in his eyes and his question threw her off. She considered it for a moment before deciding to start with the one that was less emotional for her.

"What was that…in there?" She gestured toward the bathroom. A bit of a laugh broke forth from Liam's chest as he looked toward the bathroom.

"Well, I'm not sure how much t'e oldun told ye, but I'm what ye call an Elemental Ranger. Here on Earth, tha just happens ta mean water. I can actually control it."

"Wow." Trini really had no idea what else to say. She sat, just staring at the space between them for a minute. She was trying to take that in. He could literally control elements. Maybe not the modern definition of elements, but being able to shower without getting wet…well, who would care. She turned her attention back to him when she heard his voice again.

"What else Trini?" Trini smiled. She liked when he called her lass or said her name. It made her feel safe, though she really had no idea. So Trini dove into her next question.

"Ok, so with Zordon…" She trailed off. She really wanted him to take this question as he saw fit.

"Ah, yes. Tha little debacle. I'm sorry about tha lass. I've spent the past getting lost in myself because of that oldun. Wasn't really expectin ta see him." Liam paused. Trini looked at him and saw him seeming to fight with himself. Then he went on. "It brought back some of me memories, none of which were too pleasant."

"I'm sorry Liam, we don't have to talk about it." Here Liam held his hand up.

"No, don go worryin about me Trini. I really should talk about it." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Well, I suppose you've seen my scars and Zordon told ya who I am." He looked over and Trini nodded, suggesting for him to continue, so he did. "Well I lost it when me team was destroyed. I went ta a very dark place t'en. And tha dark place led to me being trapped for a long time. Seein Zordon just reminded me of how long, that's all. And it reminded me of why I was trapped. My own stupidity an foolishness." He paused, tears beginning to flow down his own face. He wasn't crying, the tears were just silently falling. Trini wanted to hug him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She just reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. He tense for a moment before relaxing against her hand. Then she heard him talk from beneath his tears.

"Lass, you really shouldn't be near me. I'm dangerous and being close to me is dangerous." Trinis nodded absently, but then steeled her gaze on him.

"Wait, I have one last question!" Liam sighed and indicated for her to ask. "Why did you come here, to my room?" She saw his shoulders drop as soon as she asked. She could tell he was hoping not to get to this question, even though he knew it was coming. With one last deep breath, Liam pulled himself up to look at her, placing his hands on her shoulders this time.

"Trini, lass. I woke up from a very dark place. I was losing who I was in that eternal damned void. But t'en t'ere was a crash and light. And I hurt. I hadn't felt pain in a very long time. I hadn't felt anyt'in in a very long time. I looked up and thought I saw an angel t'ere. I asked for help and tha angel saved me, pulling me to safety.

"Imagine my surprise to find that my angel was just a normal average human woman." Trini felt herself tense at him saying that. It meant he didn't get the same rush from her as she did from him. She tried to start pulling away, but he held her shoulder firm and went on.

"Well, see, I say normal and average, but you are anyt'in but. I can't really say why, but you make me feel safe. I can't help but smile around ye. Even when I was angry at seein the creatures earlier and then at Zordon, it only took one look at ye and I felt calm. I'm a torrent of wild emotions and you seem to be my downfall, keeping me from doin anyt'in stupid. So when I felt the anger rise in me after rememberin, I knew there was only one woman who I wanted to see. But she was busy, so I came here." He offered her another of his sheepish grins. "Sorry bout tha Trini. I should go."

Here he finally dropped his hands. He wasn't sure what else to do, so he pulled back and got to his feet. And in that moment, Trini realized she didn't care. She jumped to her feet and wrapped the tall Irishman in a hug.

"Don't you dare leave." She almost cried into his chest, holding him tight. She didn't know where this was coming from, but after everything he had said and done, she wasn't going to let him go. She didn't realize until that instant, even with the crying, how scared she had been when he had left. Liam stood in shock for a moment before hugging her back. After a moment, he felt the sobs wracking Trini's body.

"What's wrong lass?" He pulled back just enough to be able to see her eyes. Losing herself in his eyes, Trini wasn't sure what else to do. So she told him the truth.

"I don't want you to leave. When you disappeared, I was so scared." She heard him huff at this. "I mean it. I was scared because you looked so angry and hurt and I didn't want you to feel that way. I wanted to make you feel better because that's what you do to me. I feel safe and happy when you are around."

Her final words seemed to shock Liam. It was by no means what he had expected to hear from her. He stared at her, nearly slack jawed, trying to comprehend what she had said. Then, in a moment of clarity, he just smiled.

"Alright, I won't leave wit'out tellin ye where I'm headed." This seemed to placate Trini who settled her head back down on his chest. She instantly snapped it back up when she remembered the others.

"Oh! The rest of the team. They were worried and out looking for you!" Liam looked shocked.

"Lookin for me?"

"Yes. They were worried about you, but after I….well, with how I reacted, they sent me home to sleep." Liam let out a laugh.

"Haha, yes and ya did look lovely lyin t'ere." Trini smacked his chest, but his grin just got bigger. Finally tearing herself away from his eyes, they broke the hug.

"I need to call them though."

"Ok, go right ahead." Liam sat back down on her bed as Trini moved to pick up her cell phone. She unlocked it and quickly called Kimberly.

"Hello"

"Kimberly? I found him!"

"That's wonderful Trini." There was a grunt and some shouting in the background.

"Trini, I'm going to have to call you back." And the line went dead. Trini looked down at her phone, a bit confused. Then she turned back to Liam.

"Somethings wrong." Liam stated it as a fact, his brow furrowing. Trini just nodded. She appreciated that he knew without her saying anything. Then Liam stood up. "Well let's go find em t'en." He wrapped her in a hug. Trini felt herself energize to transport, but this time was far different from her other travels. Every other time she had transported, it had been encase in a yellow energy. It felt natural, but she never noticed much else about it. This time, she was wrapped in a rainbow, able to see every shade of light. And she noticed that the energy felt like him. It felt like she was wrapped in his stare. She could smell him. And she loved it.

And then it was gone. The two had landed in the park and in a moment, Liam had dropped his embrace. He was staring at the carnage around him and Trini felt her own heart stop. But there was no time to stop. Trini looked and saw some of the strange creatures from earlier surrounding a group of people. She grabbed Liam's arm, but he was already running that direction. As he arrived, Trini heard it this time.

"Speins." (Pronounced like 'spleens' without the 'l')

"Speins?" She asked. She had watched these creatures decimate a full team of rangers, but then she had watched them cringe as Liam came near them. As they approached this time, however, the Speins shifted their focus from the humans to the two new ones approaching them.

"Yes, lass, Speins. Ever heard names like Balthazar, Beelzebub? Demons here on earth? Well those were all stories about these creatures. Even the term Beasts comes from them."

Further explanation was cut off as the two groups met. Trini was prepared for a tough fight, but these things moved faster than a human eye could even detect. They punched harder too. In an instant, Trini felt herself collapse on the ground. And she looked up as a shadow fell over her. It was Liam. He stood over her, protecting and defending her from the Speins. She couldn't keep up with his moves. He was too quick and it was instantly apparent that the Speins did not stand a chance. Once they had been dealt with, Liam turned to help her back to her feet.

"Are you alright Trini?" She nodded her head. "I should take ye somewhere safe." She shook her head and opened her mouth this time.

"Don't you dare." This led to him smiling.

"Tha's becoming a bit of a catch phrase for ye, lass." He smiled at her. "Ok, let's go find your friends."

At this the two returned to the scene they had first found. After searching around for a few minutes, Trini straightened up. She hadn't found anything, but then Liam called her over. When she came to stand by him, she gasped and buried her head in his shoulder. He lifted his arm around her and pulled her tight to him.

Lying on the ground before them was cracked Zeo Ranger Masks, lying strewn about.


	3. Chapter 3: A 'New' Ranger

Trini could see smoke rising from all around. The masks were not a good sign, and as soon as they found the masks she had heard a few choice words from Liam. She felt her own body begin to tremble, unsure of quite what she should be doing and knowing deep down she felt fear. Something that could take down the whole team and apparently pretty easy, well that couldn't be good. And what was worse, Trini couldn't find any of her other friends either.

She collapsed on the ground. She couldn't fight the tears that were coming. She hated crying, being so weak. Yet it seemed that this was going to happen. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into Liam's eyes. He reached down and carefully picked her up. She instantly felt her body stop trembling and she clung to him. She didn't' like feeling this way, but with him she almost felt as if she didn't care. She looked up at him and smiled through her tears.

"There now, lass. Don' be shedding your tears just yet. We'll get them back. I promise ye." He reached down and carefully wiped her tears away. Once Trini got a handle on her own tears, she nodded at him. He smiled at her once more. "Hold on tight."

And they energized away. Trini felt safe once again. The energy felt and smelled like him, and she loved it. She wanted to fade into it herself, but nearly when it started, it disappeared. But she was still in his arms.

And in the Command Center? She suddenly looked up at him in confusion. Liam's face was hard once more, but this time it didn't seem quite as angry. As he slid from her grasp, she felt him grab her hand, holding it like a lifeline. She didn't know why, but it made her happy to feel he needed her like that.

"So, oldun'. It seems we've got trouble."

Zordon appeared, looking down at Liam. He smiled, but Liam's face didn't change. Zordon let out a sigh.

"I'm glad you are back, Liam. I have been worried about you." The two beings stood and stared at one another for a moment. Trini could feel the energy burning off of Liam. She knew what power was, having held it herself as a ranger and having faced several monsters, but what she felt from Liam…Well, there was no good word to describe it. It Zordon had been this powerful, these men were truly on the level of what some would call gods. It was terrifying…and yet thrilling.

In the heat of the moment, and unsure of what else to do, Trini squeezed Liam's hand. The moment she did, she felt him relax. All of the tension seemed to dissipate and she felt herself relax. She looked over to see Liam finally smiling, even if it seemed to have a sarcastic glint to it.

"T'ank ye, Zordon. Its good ta be back." Then she felt him tense again. "Or it would be if t'ey weren't followin' me." Zordon offered a knowing look.

"So it is true?"

"Aye." Trini felt lost, so she decided to jump it.

"Wait, true? Following?" she paused and gave them both her most serious look. "Liam, Zordon, what is going on?"

The two continued to stare at one another. It was as if neither one wished to break the silence and chance angering her even more. After another tense moment, Liam let out a sigh and Turned to face Trini.

"Trini, lass, t'ere are some great dangers in this universe."

It was Trini's turn to give the sarcastic glare. There was a bit of a giggle from Zordon.

"Liam, Trini served as a ranger. She has faced Rita." Now it was Liam's turn to look surprised. Then his shock faded into a large grin.

"I should have known someone as kind as ye would have been chosen as a ranger." He looked at Zordon once more before turning to her to share. "Well, I don't really know what Zordon told ye, but I am a ranger." Trini nodded, showing she knew that. "I was one of t'e first Zordon pulled. Straight from me dear old Ireland here and now. He gave us immense power. We were t'e elemental rangers. You saw some of that earlier." Trini nodded, thinking back to the shower. She had interrupted and made him get wet. And she'd had a chance to see his chest through his wet t-shirt. He was certainly built. Then she shook the thoughts from her hear. She needed to focus on her friends right now.

"We fought a lot of evil. With Zordon, we were supposed ta defeat it. But tha did no work. I was stronger and stubborn. So we split, to try to take on more evil. Zordon went one way, I another, and my tean t'a t'ird." He paused. He looked broken in that single moment and all Trini wanted to do was hug him. Instead, she squeezed his hand to let him know she was still there.

"Twas a mistake from t'e start. It got them. Destroyed them more like. T'ey were my best friends, an I let it get t'em." Here, Liam stopped. He was not crying, but Trini could feel the pain pouring off of him. She finally gave in and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. It seemed to shock him, so she pulled back. She was about to drop her arms when she felt him grasp her to his side.

"Sorry Lass, I just haven't held anyone or been held like t'at in a long time." He smiled down at her. With the encouragement, Trini pressed back into his hug. He let out a sigh, and Trini knew he was going to continue his story.

"So I went on t'e rampage. I was going ta destroy t'em all. But I did no get very far.I ran into it." Here Trini felt an involuntary shudder sliver down her spine. She did not like the way he said 'it' and based on Zordon's face, neither did he. Trini was scared, but she needed to know.

"it?"

"Aye lass, it. It was t'e original source of all evil. It is the t'ing from which all evil gets its power. It is t'e most cruel and terrible thing you could imagine. Actually, tis probably far worse than you could imagine." He paused to look at her. "It was t'ere and it had my team." Liam stopped. Trini almost felt she knew what was coming next. She felt her own heart breaking.

"Just as I went to try and free t'em, my powers were frozen." Here Liam looked toward Zordon. It was not a glare, but a sad look. It was if he knew why Zordon had done it, but he also wanted Zordon to know what it had cost. As he said it, there was a gasp from Zordon and Alpha, realization hitting them. Before anyone else could begin to speak, Liam went on.

"I watched t'em torn asunder before my eyes. T'en, to torture me, It had me frozen. I was awake, but I could do nothing. I was lost in time and space. I was lost long enough to begin forgetting who I was. I couldn't feel, I couldn't think. I was lost, flowing t'rough time." Here he stopped to give Alpha and Zordon a knowing glance. It said he didn't hold anything against them and neither should they. Then Liam went on with his tale.

"When you saved me, I knew trouble was coming. And it landed the next day when we saw the Speins. T'ey are its minions. Do its bidding. This means it is still hunting me, trying ta torture me more." Trini gasped.

"So that means my friends…" She trailed off, unsure if she would be able to say it herself.

"Are in a great deal of trouble lass, unless I can save t'em." Here he turned to leave. He needed to figure out his next steps. As he turned to face Zordon, he felt her draw him back to look at him. There was fire in her eyes.

"Don't you dare leave me." Liam smiled at her. It was what he had expected. But it also concerned him.

"Lass, t'ere is no way ta protect ya." They heard Alpha in the background.

"Ai-yi-yi, come on Zordon. Tell him!" This caught their attention. Liam and Trini both turned to face Zordon.

"What is he saying, Zordon?"

Zordon stared down at the two, almost a smile appearing on his face.

"Liam, the only way to freeze your power was to separate it from me. When I did that, I could suspend it for 1000 millenniums. At the time, it was intended to remove your power before your life might fade. We were hoping to return you home, but you were gone and we couldn't find you. Your display earlier implies you have full control of your power and it is no longer limited by me. This means you can do anything with it." Zordon paused, ensuring that both individuals were staring at him. "Even share it."

At this realization, Liam seemed to collapse. He had been under the impression his power was still gifted and limited by Zordon, but this made it something new. It made him something new. He looked over at Trini whose eyes were wide with shock. He smiled at her, standing back up to his full height. He held out his hand.

"Would ya like ta help me rescue your friends, lass?" Trini hesitated for a moment. She desperately wanted to save her friends, but the power she had felt. She had seen how Liam handled others. She wasn't sure she wanted to take any of that power from him. It might weaken him. But she needed to go with him. She had seen in small doses what he could do without someone to stop him. And it scared her. Slowly she reached out until their fingers nearly touched. After another second of hesitation, she closed the distance.

She felt the power flow through her. She felt an energy she could never describe nor imagine. It was intoxicating. It was terrifying. It was good. She felt it wrap around and enclose her in the warmth of the energy. She loved it and she needed it. She felt herself gasp at the rush of feelings and suddenly Liam had her in his arms. She looked up to realize she had fall and he had caught her. She smiled up at him and he smiled back.

"Feelin' alright t'ere lass?" Trini jumped to her feet.

"Absolutely! Now what?" Liam slowly removed his hand once he was sure she was solid on her own two feet and the two turned to face Zordon. Zordon offered them a cautionary word.

"Be prepared, you two. There is now a great power living in you both. That power was immense when Liam held it, but it now has two bodies to fill and use. It is a power even greater than I was and stronger than anything the universe has seen. So please be careful. That power is neither good nor evil, it is only what you let it be." The two stood for a moment, holding hands as they took in what Zordon had said. After a moment of consideration, both squeezed the other's hand and looked up at Zordon.

"We're ready Zordon. I need to find my friends!"

"Aye, and I'm with t'e lass all the way, oldun."

As the two morphed to prepare for what would be coming next, they missed the smile shared between Zordon and his robot friend. It was still a long road ahead, but seeing the way Trini and Liam supported one another, Zordon suddenly felt better about his elemental rangers than he had in years. These two were representing everything he had hoped the rangers could and would be.

"Ok, so now we need to find the other rangers. Alpha, can you locate them?"

"Ai-yi-yi. I can Zordon, but you all are not going to like this."

With that, the other three all turned their attention to the viewing globe. The sight they saw took their breath away and Liam felt anger rising in his chest once more. He reached out to grasp Trini's hand.

"Let's go lass."

In a flow of energy, the two were gone.


	4. Chapter 4: What Does Elemental Mean

Arriving in the center of Angle Grove, Liam decided it was time to morph. He gave Trini's hand a gentle squeeze and a nod when she looked his way. She nodded in response as they dropped their hands. Then they morphed.

Trini had morphed before. She had felt energy wrap her in Ranger armor. She had felt a helmet clamp in place and the strength that grew from this. She had felt the power of some creature flow through he before.

This was not that.

As Trini felt energy wrap around her, it was hungrier and more energetic than she had ever felt. It not only wrapped around her but flowed through every last fiber of her body. She could feel the power flowing from and through her. More than that, she could feel the energy flowing through everything around her.

And she dropped to the ground, fully morphed. Liam was beside her.

And then they looked up. Drawn and hanging from the large sign above the nearest building were the rest of the rangers. They looked like they had been through one hell of a fight. And standing before them was the monster from before. It had a roman like helmet on its head now but the creature itself looked more grotesque than before.

As she and Liam strolled forward, she felt his energy begin to press forth. As soon as she felt his, she felt something in her own chest trying to fight through. There was power inside of her trying to get out, to join his. She realized this, feeling the connection now between them. And it scared her. She had seen and heard of Liam's past. It isn't what scared her. What had scared her was how badly she wanted to be there for him. She had never cared about someone so deeply, especially not after having just met them.

But there wasn't time to reflect. Suddenly they were surrounded by Speins. And in that instant, Trini suddenly realized she knew everything about them. She knew about their history as creatures, similar to earth elves, on a planet far from here. She knew that their sun had been burning out. She knew that IT had come and offered them a chance to escape. She knew they had taken it. She knew that in doing so, they had become monsters, wrapped in IT's evil nature. They had grown stronger, true, but they had been stuck doing its cruel evil bidding.

And this time, the energy flowing off of the two of them was not enough to scare the Speins away. Trini tensed at this realization, worried about what was still to come. She had fought with these creatures before and been handily beaten. The only saving grace had been Liam. She felt her body tremble a bit. She knew Liam wouldn't be able to help her with this many around.

Suddenly they attacked. Well, she said suddenly, but they seemed to be moving much slower. The Speins were almost crawling toward her. Trini smiled for a second, realizing what was happening. She strolled over to one, jamming her hand into its chest. She expected it to fall down. Instead, she felt it fly across the small street and land hard against a car.

And she felt something she had never felt before as a ranger. She felt another creature's pain. She felt the Spein collapse and she felt how she had hurt it. It caught her off guard and she collapsed. Before she even hit the ground, Liam was there protecting her.

"Ye alright lass?"

She looked up. She knew he was in his armor, but to her it looked like he wasn't even wearing a helmet. These new ranger powers were something else. Stronger and faster than she could ever imagine. But she could see through armor and she felt others pain.

"I'm not sure. I felt…"

Liam nodded as she trailed off. "Aye, ye felt the Spein's pain. The joys of being an nearly invincible, all powerful elemental ranger."

"What do you mean?"

"Just a second Trini."

He paused, drawing his arms up. As they fell, she saw a wave of white light travel away from him and send all of the Speins flying. This time Trini saw the pain register on his face. She could only imagine what that meant.

Then the Pig/Swan thing jumped down. There was anger in its face. It attacked, full strength, full speed. It was all Trini and Liam could do to defend themselves. They began moving, careful as they felt out one another's movements, before engaging more closely with the creature. It was slow, but as they learned they began to win.

And Trini landed a good blow. It sent the beast flying, well away. It left just her and Liam there, who both jumped up to the roof. As they did, Trini realized that when she had attacked the creature, she had felt no pain. It confused her. Liam seemed to catch the look on her face.

"Not now lass. Let's get your friends out of here, t'en I'll explain."

She merely nodded in response. They began breaking the chains and ropes holding the rest of the rangers. Very carefully, Liam gathered them together. He took half before addressing her.

"T'ink ya can teleport t'em back to Zordon?"

She shook her head, suggesting no. Seeing a a dark cloud moving toward them, she snapped back when he called her name.

"Aye, Trini. Focus on me. Now, t'ink of your friends and focus on Zordon. T'en, just let the energy flow free."

Trini nodded. She saw Liam watching her as she took a few deep breaths. With her body more relaxed, she focused on Zordon. A moment later, she was back in the command center. Each of the rangers were with her. She had been wrapped in the energy. It reminded her of Liam's energy, but not. There was something different about it and she missed his energy.

Then he stood beside her. As Alpha came up with Gurney's, they carefully loaded each of her friends onto one. Once they were done, the Trini settled into one of the rooms on the side of the command center. Her head was swimming and she was exhausted.

She heard the door open and didn't even need to look to know it was Liam. She felt his presence. It still felt as strong, as brave. She was still craving to be closer. But she was scared still and remained seating. She heard him sigh and finally looked away from the floor toward him.

"Ye doin' alrigh' lass?"

She just nodded at him. Letting out another sigh at her response, he moved over beside her. As he sat down, he made sure to be far enough away not to touch her. He just sat and watched her the best he could. After a few minutes, she looked at him expectantly. He felt confused.

"Yes?"

"Don't yes me. Explain."

Liam let out a sigh. He was now going to have to explain the powers the best he understood them. He just hoped she wouldn't hate him for it.

"Ok, see lass, we are now both elemental rangers. This means we are connected to the elements. One of those most essential elements is life. We draw our power from all t'e life around us."

He stopped, watching his words sink in. Then he went on.

"Because of t'is, we can feel all life around us. But more t'an t'at, we can feel when t'at life gets hurt."

"Even by us?"

"Aye."

"But then why did I feel it when I hurt the Speins but not that pig thing?"

"Because the Speins were once living beings. That pig t'ing was made from clay."

They settled into a comfortable silence as Trini digested everything he had told her. She still wasn't sure of what to say next. Liam saved her that trouble.

"Let me know if it is too much lass. We have saved your friends and I can leave and get t'em away from ye all."

"NO!" Trini blushed at her sudden outburst. It only grew worse with the grin Liam gave her in return. With a huff she stood up and strolled out of the room, leaving him staring and bewildered in her wake.

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It had been a few hours and Trini was now sitting with Kimberly. The ex-pink ranger had not yet woken up. None of the other rangers had for that matter. She had been sitting there for a while, but only Alpha had come in. She could feel Liam just outside the door. She wasn't sure what she wanted from him right then. She didn't want him to leave, but his confidence had annoyed her.

She was so lost in her thoughts, she nearly missed Kimberly waking up.

"Trini?" The voice was so small, nearly lost in a whisper. Trini jumped to attention, moving closer to Kimberly.

"I'm here Kim. How are you feeling?"

"Been better." Kimberly was then wracked by coughs. "What happened?"

"Well you all got taken out by those Speins and it was Liam and I who had to save you." Kimberly gave her a strange look here. Trini wasn't sure what it meant.

"How did you two save us? I thought he hated rangers?" Trini tensed at that. She wasn't sure if he did or not, but he was hurt and broken by Zordon.

"No, he doesn't hate them. But he thinks it is his fault all of this is happening." Where had that come from? Trini wasn't sure what had led her to say that. Apparently she was feeling more than she thought and worse it was showing to the rest of the room. She saw Kimberly smile.

"Sounds like someone is in Love." She said the last word with a teasing lilt in her voice. It made Trini blush again.

"No, now stop that."

"Ok, but seriously. How did you survive?"

"Well…he…ummmmm…" Trini felt herself tremble a bit. Finally she threw the rest of her sentence out there. "He shared his power with me!"

She saw the sudden gasp appear on Kimberly's face. Of course all of that disappeared as Kimberly began shaking, her eyes rolling back into her head. Trini gasped in surprise and suddenly she felt Liam's arms around her. She turned to face him.

"Easy t'ere lass. Easy. She needs help. You can provide t'at." She offered him a confused look so he took the lead. Taking her hand in his, he held it out over the shaking body of Kimberly. Then she heard his breath in her ear and felt a shiver run down her spine. Then she focused on his words.

"Focus. Breathe. Feel your energy flow into her. Feel out the pain. Pull it out."

Trini listened and did as he said. She could feel each different feeling Kimberly was going through and found the pain. She wrapped her mind around it and pulled it out.

In that instant, a few things happened. Trini collapsed and Kimberly stopped shaking. Liam instantly drew Trini up into his arms and began to work.

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Trini woke a few hours later. She couldn't remember anything, but she was lying on a bed. Kimberly was sitting near her as was Tommy and Jason. So they had woken up. She took a few calming breaths before looking at them.

"What happened?"

None of them met her eyes. Suddenly alpha came bustling in.

"Ai-yi-yi! You're awake! Great!" The robot handed her something to drink. After forcing it down, she thanked the robot.

"Thank you Alpha." She looked back at the rest of her friends, seriously worried at this point. "Please, what happened?"

Kimberly cleared her throat. Trini saw a small shudder run through her body and Tommy's hand fell on her shoulder. Then Kimberly started.

"Trini, what you did…it…well…it saved me. At least that is what Zordon and Alpha told me. I thought I was done and then I felt fine."

"And what happened to me?"

"Well we don't really know. He carried you away after you collapsed." Here everyone turned to Alpha. The small robot had spoken up and Trini turned her intense gaze that direction.

"Ai-yi-yi, well then he returned. He did the same thing you did to everyone else, pulling their pain out and healing them. Then he went back to you. He had settled you in a room…" Here Alpha trailed off and Trini felt herself getting frustrated.

"Please Alpha?"

Suddenly the door opened and Trini heard Zordon's booming voice.

"Trini, come this way."

She trembled as she stood. She was scared her legs would give out but her friends rushed to her side. She leaned between Tommy and Jason as Kimberly led the way out. They came to stand before Zordon.

"Yes?"

"Trini, you returned life to a broken man. He was just trying to return the favor."

Trini's heart jumped to her throat as she suddenly realized that she could no longer feel Liam's presence. She looked up and saw the pain in Zordon's eyes. She desperately wanted to know, but at the same time did not. She just wanted to run. What could this mean?

"Show me." She felt herself almost whisper. Suddenly Kimberly was at her side.

"Look Trini, I'm not sure this is the best i-"

"Show Me!" She heard herself shout and suddenly felt the energy from before. Sure she was scared, but suddenly losing him seemed even scarier. She felt the energy return her strength and she stood up. She could feel the others back away a bit. She took a breath and relaxed, turning back to Kimberly.

"Please Kim, I need to. I owe him that much."

The rest finally relented. Alpha came over and took Trini's hand, leading her through another door. This room was small and quiet.

And on the cold metal table before her was Liam.


	5. Chapter 5: IT

Trini felt her body trembling. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe because he had been so strong and suddenly he wasn't there. He had given her this power and now she didn't want anything more than to be able to give it back to him, especially if it meant he was alive. More than that, she was scared because of how much it hurt for him not to be there.

Zordon had explained that Liam had pulled the toxin which was inside of Trini (who had pulled it from Kimberly) into himself. Then, knowing he was dying, had done the same for the rest of the rangers. Essentially, he had managed to save multiple generations of rangers before dying.

But Trini didn't care. She just wanted him back. The other rangers had seen her pain. Kimberly had gotten them to back off and stop asking questions, which she appreciated. Even Kimberly had managed to let it go without bugging her too much. But that didn't stop it from hurting. So Trini had moved away from his room. She was back to hiding by the Zords.

She thought about how and why he died. He had died saving her. She hadn't been strong enough. She hadn't been fast enough nor good enough. He had died because she wasn't able to help her friends. He had given his life, probably being the only person who could fight these things, to save her friends. How selfish was she.

It was her fault.

But things were changing fast for her. She felt the disturbance even before the alarms in the Command Center started going off. When the alarms did go off, Trini was already on her feet and moving back into the room. The rest of the rangers were gathered around the viewing globe. The Speins were back, as was the ugly pig swan thingy. She really needed a name for this thing. Not that it would matter for much longer if she had anything to say about it.

As the rest of the rangers heard her door open, their comments fell silent. They had been discussing the fact that they couldn't handle these things. They couldn't stand up to them and fight. As Trini came in, Kimberly went to stand beside her.

"You ok Trini?" Trini merely nodded, staring at the screen. She knew they wouldn't have to have been worried about handling it if Liam was not dead. And he was only dead because of her. And Trini made up her mind.

As Trini made her decision, the entire mood in the Command Center shifted. What had been one of fear and worry before with a looming air of sadness was now pure anger. Even Kimberly backed away from Trini. Trini was staring at the screen so hard, it seems she was trying to melt it with just her stare.

"Because of me." Trini whispered under her breath. Kim only barely heard and wasn't sure she did.

"Huh?" Trini's eyes snapped over to Kim and suddenly the pressure was gone. All that stared back was anger and pain. It wasn't the gentle confidant Trini they had all known. This was someone else, someone dangerous.

"Follow me. Get the people out of there. Then just stand back." Trini turned away. Before she could teleport, Kimberly grabbed her arm.

"Wait Trini, what are you going to do?" She could see tears forming in Trini's eyes.

"I'm going to make up for it."

Like that there was a flash of energy and Trini was gone. The rest of the rangers stood dumbfounded for a moment before Alpha's words forced them to jump to attention to teleport and follow her.

As they disappeared, Zordon frowned. He was terrified himself of what was to come next.

At least until he listened.

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Trini arrived fully morphed and in a rage. Her landing alone was so violent that the Speins were all knocked down. There was so much hatred in her that she wasn't even fazed when their pain hit her. It washed over to no effect. She stood slowly and deliberately before marching over toward the creatures. As she did, she could sense her friends behind her, moving and helping everyone get away. Trini offered a sad smile at that. At least everyone would be safe. She would wait long enough to ensure that. Then she was going to end these creatures. They had cost her. They had hurt her friends.

They had hurt him.

Trini felt the anger flowing. She screamed as she ran at the creatures. The energy flowing from her threw them, hard. Even the pig swan things couldn't handle it. It flew back.

As it did, Trini collapsed. She was screaming still, but now the tears were flowing. She hurt. She hated how bad it hurt.

Suddenly there was a presence there. Trini couldn't see anything, but she could feel it.

" _Good. That's it. Hate them."_

"What?" Trini shouted out loud.

" _Yessssss."_

Trini wanted it to stop. She was hurting, she was hating, she was angry and none of it helped. Standing there made her want to run, but everywhere she looked, it felt like the voice was there, taunting her.

 _You couldn't save him. You couldn't save them. You were too slow. Too late. Too weak…._

Trini was fighting hard now. She felt bile rising in her throat. Whatever…whoever this thing was, it knew her. It knew what she had done. It was inside of her head. Trini hated it, wanting it to end.

 _Yes, come find me. Come to me poor pathetic yellow ranger. You weren't good enough to be a ranger then. You weren't good enough to be a ranger now, especially not on his level. He was so much better. Just admit it._

"What do you want?" Trini screamed. Somewhere in listening to the voice, it had started to rain. Of course it had. Trini couldn't handle this weather. Not right now. She could barely handle what was happening. She wasn't sure she was handling that too well actually.

 _But….._

That stopped Trini in her tracks. But? "But what?"

 _But, you could come with me. Come see me and you can be strong enough. Powerful enough, fast enough, enough for it all._

Trini was lost. That sounded perfect. That really was what she wanted. It was too late to save him, but she needed to save her friends. And she saw how her anger helped her here. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Trini felt herself relax.

"How?"

 _Just relax. Give in to me. Join me. Breathe and think of me…_

Just as Trini was preparing to fade off, she felt her body twitch. She felt a presence.

And she heard a voice.

"Lass, Trini, come back to me!"

Then she was gone. Lost in the darkness.

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Liam was suddenly back in the command center. He slammed his helmet on the ground. As he collapsed. Braving his anger, Kimberly came near. As she did, he turned and began to cry into her shoulder. She glanced around at the strange looks everyone was offering, but they all seemed as lost as her. The boys did seem impressed by the sizable indent he had managed to leave on the solid steel floor of the command center by slamming his helmet, but otherwise everyone was just lost in what had happened.

"Ummmm…" Kimberly tried to say something, unsure of what. Then Zordon cut in.

"What is it Liam?"

"IT got her. I was too late. Again."

Here Liam pulled back. So Kimberly ventured forth, now confused and a bit upset.

"Wait wait wait….but you were dead. And too late?"

Liam stood. He moved over to face the viewing globe. He held his hand out and it suddenly looked like it was scanning channels. The other rangers, after a moment hesitation, moved over to him.

"Aye, too late. And no, I'm no dead. Jus' beat up for a bit. T'ey really messed wit' you all. Took me some time ta heal. For a bit, wasn't sure I would survive." Liam paused. He looked over at Zordon. "Looks like ye had t'e same t'ought."

Zordon merely nodded in confirmation. Liam turned back to the globe and continued.

"As for too late, aye. I was too late to save t'e last elemental rangers from IT and I was too late to save her. But I won't be stopped t'is time. I have ta save her!"

There was an uncomfortable tension hanging in the air. The rest of the rangers just looked to one another. Then Liam stood up.

"T'ere! I found her!"

As he backed up from the globe, everyone else looked on to see. Sure enough, there was a passed out Trini draped on the floor of what looked like Rita and Lord Zedd's dungeon. But there was something different. She was not in her typical bright colors, but lying there in all black. Liam stepped to the middle of the room. As he prepared to teleport away, Kimberly grabbed his arm stopping him. He looked at her. Kimberly could see the pain in his eyes. It was even deeper than what she had seen in Trini's if that were possible. It made Kim draw back.

"Look…just be careful and bring her back to us…alright?"

Liam nodded. With that he was gone. He flowed from the room and appeared in the cell beside her. He walked slowly over to her sleeping form before drawing her to him. He help her in his arms. As he did, he could feel his own tears forming. Now he had to figure out how to get her out of here.

That was when her eyes opened.


	6. Chapter 6: The Four Horsemen

"NOOOOO!"

Trini's scream scared him. Then she pushed him back. It was an unexpected thrust and caught him off-guard. He found himself collapsing on the floor. He saw a fire light up in her eyes and knew something was wrong.

"Lass, calm down. Whats wrong now?"

Liam then felt her energy draw back. He felt the terrifying presence she had been just a few mere seconds before collapse. Then he saw tears in her eyes.

"You died. I woke up and you were gone. And there was nothing I could do. I don't think I can ever smile again." At this last line, Trini fell back down on the cot she had been lying on. "I really just want this nightmare to end."

"Lass, tis no nightmare nor dream. You are awake. And talkin' ta me." Liam slowly stood, placing his hands out in a placating way, hoping to calm the crying woman. "I'm here. I promise I won't leave ya if I can help it. And I'm sorry for what I did and for scaring ya. I just couldn't lose you."

This last line seemed to spark something in her. Trini looked into his eyes then for the first time since she awoke. There was a sign of recognition and a grin began to form on her face. She tentatively reached a hand out to grasp his cheek.

"Liam?"

That was as far as she got. The second her hand touched his cheek, she drew it back and curled into a ball. Liam thought something was wrong, but then he heard the poor lady talking to herself.

"No. No. He isn't here. You're messing with me. I wasn't strong enough before and I'm not strong enough now. That's why he's here. My mind is playing tricks on me."

Liam came over and knelt by her cot, placing a soothing hand on her back. It was tearing him up to see her like this. Before him was not the calm, cool, confident presence he had grown to see from Trini. This was something else. This was true terror. True hatred. True self-loathing. She was tearing herself apart because she believed he had died. Suddenly Liam couldn't take it anymore. He grasped the trembling woman's shoulders and drew her up to face him.

"Come on now lass, snap out of it. I'm here. And I'm alive. And I need you. More than that, I L-"

"NOOOOOOOO!" Trini cut him off with another shout of rage as she shoved him away. She stood and this time did not back down. "I'm going to be strong for him. He died because of me and I will not let anything else happen. Now Leave Me ALONE!" She got louder and louder as she went, shouting the final sentence. As the word alone came out, she thrust out with all of her energy and threw what she still thought was a dream into the wall.

Except he just went right through the wall. Trini thought at first that proved he was a figment of her imagination.

Until she felt his pain.

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Liam landed with a thud on a hard stone floor. He felt a pain in his back like he had not felt in a very long time. In fact, thinking back, Liam had not actually been hurt in a fight since….

As he thought back to that fight, the one where he got his scars, he realized where he was. Sitting in the midst of a great throne room. It appeared to be the great interior of a castle. But that isn't what made him tense.

The walls of the room were lined with Speins. They appeared near endless. There were several other monsters in their midst as well. And on the pedestal stood four beings that Liam knew. These four, known in some earth cultures as the four horsemen, were the right and left hands of it. Liam knew their earthly names: War, Conquest, Famine, Death. Each brought a different horror.

War lived up to her name. Beside her was a great red horse wearing battle armor. On War's back was a great battle ax. There was a sword at her side and she carried a great pike in her hand. She stood at least 7' tall and was built like a monster. Her arms were incredibly long, hanging to her knees, and her skin was blood red. Unfortunately, that meant this was the safest time to be near War. When she became angry or blood thirsty, her skin turned pure white.

Conquest, sometimes called Pestilence, stood beside a great white horse. Conquest appeared to be a very handsome man, able and willing to do absolutely anything he desired. He had a great bow across his back and a crown on his head. Liam knew the stories, however, and knew that this was no friendly being. Conquest could call down plagues to destroy land, and with his bow he could slaughter. He was not known as the victor for no reason. Whereas War simply wanted to fight, Conquest had to win.

Famine's appearance was not as intimidating as the others. He appeared to be a skinny man, nearly prepared to shrivel away. In his hands was a scale, ready to call the world into balance. He stood beside a black horse, but Liam knew better. With his scales, Famine could alter reality. He could shift the balance of people's bodies and leave them weak and helpless.

Finally came the greatest of the horsemen. Death. Death stood beside a pale horse. This horse almost felt see through, the exact opposite of Death. Death appeared ghostly, with a scythe in his hand. Many interpreted her as a skeleton wearing a cloak. In truth, Death was a woman so thin that each and every bond could be seen. She wore nothing, but the aura of death hung about her, creating a dark cloudy mist. This mist could be pushed out in order to surround someone before Death took them. But death was the kindest of the horsemen. While the others appreciated torture, abuse, pain, and suffering, Death merely sought one thing. If the person did not fight back, she simply swept in and out quietly.

And Liam knew these beings well. He had spent time fighting each one. He, Zordon, and the Elemental Rangers had fought them all together. Liam had at one time or another beaten each and every one of them. That was before he owned his power and it was still limited by Zordon.

But it was not the horsemen he had fought before. The beings before him looked different. The reminded him of someone. Rather, of some people.

Then the throne spun around.

" _Hello Liam"_

Liam froze. His blood ran cold. He felt the skin prickle over his scars. That voice. That sneer. He knew it. And it wasn't good.

" _Ah, I see you remember my horsemen. Pity you and Zordon had to destroy my last bunch. I had to go out and find some new horsemen."_

Liam stopped, stunned. He had destroyed them. He had beaten them and he and Zordon had removed these horsemen from existence. But then, here they were standing as confidant and cool as ever, just staring at him. And Liam finally looked. He looked into their eyes. He looked deeper, trying to see what had happened.

And then he saw it. Before him, standing there as enemies, were his friends. The other elemental rangers stood before him. Liam could feel their faint life force as it was fed on by the energy of the horsemen. His friends. There. But it couldn't be. He had watched it destroy them. Finally Liam turned his eyes back to the throne and what he saw caused his breath to involuntarily hitch. IT was there.

There are a great number of attempts to describe and explain it. Evil, terrible, beast, brute, Beelzebub, devil, fallen angel. None of these come close to expressing the terror at seeing IT in the…flesh? IT was a creature of pure evil and hatred. IT was the course of the evil in the universe. IT was the cause of pain and suffering.

And IT hated Liam for some reason. The two had fought. It was during their last fight when Liam had been frozen, losing his powers. In that fight, Liam's powers had been frozen just as the two locked in combat. IT, had slashed his chest, leaving the wounds which the other rangers had seen. IT had been unable to take Liam in that instant.

But Liam knew nothing about IT's plan for him. The two had fought. Liam assumed IT merely wanted to destroy him. Sadly it was much, much worse.

" _Now, you really should become more acquainted. I can help with that. Come here Liam. I want to tell you why I have been chasing you."_

Liam stood to his full height. He had been keeping himself cool and calm, but in that instant he felt it was time to unwind. He took a deep breath, sighed, and morphed. And when he morphed, he threw out an energy wave unlike anything he had done before. A wave of with energy flew from him and washed over the room. As it did, it took nearly every beast with it. When all was done, only three remained.

Death stood clinging to her horse. The energy had been nearly too much. Of course seeing as the energy was pure life, it was the opposite of Death who could nearly withstand it.

Liam stood in the center of the room, standing and waiting.

And IT still sat on the throne, appearing almost bored.

Everyone else had been thrown from the throne room. IT Waved its hands after, drawing the doors shut and locking the three in the room.

" _Well I would prefer to talk, but if it is a fight you would like, a fight you may have."_

At this, Death strode forward, scythe at the ready. Liam's suit turned a brilliant White. As the two drew close for battle, Scythe at the ready, Liam with a sword drawn, IT Looked on and began to call to Liam in his head.

" _Ah yes, Life and Death. A fight like no other. Well, nearly no other. It is an incredible balance. When Valen became Death the rider, there was no stopping her. She was so strong. It was magical. It was impressive."_

As swords and auras clashed, the room shook. This was a fight unlike any seen in the universe in too many years to count. Not only did the palace shake, but the energy was causing ripples across space, even shaking the earth. Zordon felt it in the Command Center.

"Liam must be fighting Death."

"WHAT?!" All of the rangers shouted, turning to face Zordon.

"Rangers, let me explain. IT, is what you may know as the source of all evil. Its greatest warriors are the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Death is the greatest of these. The last time the universe shook like this was when Liam fought Death. And I feat this can only get worse."

"Why?" Tommy ventured forth.

"Because if he defeats Death, he will have to fight IT. The last time those two fought, it nearly destroyed time and space. The last time those two fought, I still controlled Liam's power. The last time those two fought, there was a way to stop them. This time, they may be the two most powerful forces in existence."

Liam was beginning to pant. Either he was out of shape or Valen becoming Death had truly granted Death more power. Of course having a life source now, unlike before, meant that now Liam's attacks on Death hurt him as well. But the thought of his friend becoming Death brought a new fire to Liam. He pushed down the feelings to fight. But IT Was still in his head.

" _Come now Liam, surely you don't want to harm your friend. You really should stop this foolish behavior."_

None of it mattered. Liam battled on. He fought and brought Death to her knees. He drew his sword back, calling to his friend.

"I'm sorry"

As he began to swing down, there was a shout.

"STOP"

The moment cause Liam to pause. When he did, Death swept off to her horse within her aura. Liam in his pause realized that IT had spoken. Not IT's typical, in your head talking mumbo jumbo, but had actually spoken. He turned to face IT.

And his heart fell.

The other horsemen had returned, but not alone. Trini hung between them, held up by her arms. There were dried tears on her face and she looked exhausted. It took everything in him not to rush over to her.

" _Liam, Liam, Liam. You should have just listened. See, I wanted to join forces. You and I together! Could you imagine? Alas, it seems you are unable to see the greater picture. But you have granted me a wonderful gift. This young woman is so strong, so powerful, all thanks to you. Since I can't have you, I will simply take her."_

Before Liam could move, IT dissolved and flowed into Trini. The horsemen dropped her as she collapsed. The room fell silent, watching.

Slowly, Trini rose to her feet. But there was a new darkness surrounding her. And as she opened her eyes, her soft brown eyes had been replaced by black. Not black eyes, but entirely black eyeballs.

Liam could only stare and wait, unsure of what to do next.

"Hello Liam…"


	7. Chapter 7: Father?

The Rangers watched in horror as a scream of pain and frustration grew from Zordon. They did not know what it meant, but seeing him react that way was terrible.

"Zordon, what is it?" Kimberly was the first one to him. No one else knew what was going on, but for Zordon to react this way it had to be bad. After a few minutes of what seemed like heavy breathing, the great energy being calmed enough to speak.

"Rangers, what I have is bad news. Liam defeated death." The ancient being paused here. The Rangers watched on before Tommy stepped in.

"But Zordon, if Liam won, isn't that good? Now he just has to beat It." The looks from the other rangers suggested they agreed with Tommy on this. It seemed like the simplest and most straightforward explanation. Zordon knew better.

'Rangers, Liam won. Now he must fight It. There is something else, however, which I fear telling you."

This caused all of the rangers to pause. Uncomfortable looks passed from one to another. With a breath and a sigh, Zordon prepared to share.

"Rangers, now that Liam has beaten Death, he must face IT. As I said, I'm not sure the world could handle a fight like that. Unfortunately, that is not all we have to fear. I can no longer sense Trini's energy. It is still there, I'm sure, but I cannot sense it. Something is covering it up."

"Does that mean Liam has her?" Kimberly asked, but the others could hear the fear in her voice.

"Perhaps, but I don't think so. If it was Liam, he would have sent her back here to be safe before starting this fight."

"Then what is it, Zordon?"

The rangers and Zordon all turned as a loud spark was heard across the Command Center.

"Ai-yi-yi, almost got it. There." They watched the little robot as Alpha did some work. Suddenly the viewing globe lit up and everyone gasped at what they saw.

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"Liam, you are quite the young man. It really is a pity you keep getting people hurt." The black eyes in Trini's face watched him as she stood and seductively began to walk around the horsemen. "I mean, your friends trusted you, but you didn't save them." It came to stand before him and carefully traced a finger down his jaw. It took everything in him not to scream.

"Then there is poor little Trini. She loved you, ya know. Still thinks she is the reason you're dead. Wretched little girl. Of course it is all ok. It is thanks to her that I have the power and protection I need to rule now."

"Leave her alone." It simply laughed. The laugh was not Trini's gentle laugh which Liam had come to dream of, but a harsh cackle which sent a cold, angry shiver down his spine.

"Now why would I do that, little boy?" It leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "See, I know how you feel about her. Add in your powers and there is now way on earth you would even dream of touching me while I'm in here." It bounced a little and stretched, looking at Trini's body. "Besides, I am one foxy little lady, I could get used to that."

There was a fire burning in Liam's eyes now. He knew he had to do something, but he was unsure of what action he actually could take. Still, he had to do something. He began drawing energy to him. If his morphing had been bad, this was even more intense. Liam was drawing from every bit of life near enough to feel.

The rest in the room could sense it too. The Speins, who had returned, began backing out as did the monsters. Even the horsemen began to offer dangerous looks, ones that were as close to fear as their faces could manage. They too began to seek the door. Everyone was moving until It shouted again.

"STOP!"

Everyone glared at the woman/monster. No one was sure what was happening, but it did not seem good.

"Now then, Liam dear, if you wish to try this, let's just put it behind us. Come fight me right now. Destroy everything in here. That is what it feels like you really want to do. Why not go ahead." It had a smirk on its face. Liam tensed. After several intense moments of staring at one another, Liam relented. He let his energy fall.

And It laughed. Once more the harsh cackle filled the room.

"See, he won't harm me. Now stop running away you fools." It turned back to face Liam. "Mmmmm, I had wanted to take you, but seeing as now I am practically invincible against the one being who could possibly stand up to me, I can not only win but humiliate you. I like how this is turning out." Here It struck out, landing a blow on Liam's shoulders which would have killed anything else. It knocked Liam unconscious.

"Get him out of here." As It called on the horsemen to remove Liam, there was a sudden burst of energy. A blinding light filled the room and when it cleared, Liam was gone.

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The rangers stared down the globe. Jason spoke first.

"Zordon, what just happened?"

Even Zordon and Alpha were watching in disbelief. They were themselves unsure of what had just happened, but Zordon had an idea. It seemed practically impossible, but it appeared to have happened none the less.

"Rangers, as you can see, Trini has been taken from us for the moment. It is trying to bind its energy to her life force, something that will happen far sooner than any of us can do anything."

"But what about Liam?"

"Well, I'm honestly not sure. He couldn't fight Trini, I'm sure of that. He was knocked unconscious, but then that light…I'm not really sure."

"Zordon?" Kimberly asked, looking completely heartbroken at the ancient being. "What can we do?"

Suddenly there was an alarm going off. The viewing globe lit up. The rangers all stared on in horror to see the horsemen, all four of them marching resolutely into Angel Grove. The rangers turned to Zordon.

"Once more, Rangers, I must call on all of you, new and old, to help us in saving the day."

Finally, there was a look of determination among the group. With a quick glance around the room, Tommy nodded.

"It's morphin' time!"

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Liam looked around. He was lying in a room, but he had no idea where, nor how he had even gotten there. The last thing he remembered was….

TRINI!

She was in trouble. He had to get back to her. He tried teleporting out.

Only to be stopped. Something was locking him into this room. He was not a fan and began to feel his rage grow.

 _Easy child, you must relax_

The voice stopped Liam in his tracks. It was peaceful, calming, and terrifying all at once. Suddenly there was someone else in the room. It/he looked vaguely familiar. When Liam looked directly at him, however, the form he was watching began to shift. One moment he was a grizzled old man with an eye patch. The next he stood with flowing locks whiter than snow and a chest bare and built. The form shifted a few more times before Liam could settle himself.

"Who are you?" Liam sounded far more confident than he felt. He could sense the energy coming off of this being and it intimidated him.

"Well that is an excellent question, though I feel you may already know. I am known to the earth by many names. Some call me Zeus. Others call me Oden. I have been called Ra, God, and even Allah. I am the master of the immortals. But you can just call me father." Liam offered his own skeptical look at this.

"Father?"

"Yes." It seemed there would be no further comment coming.

"Ok then, father, why am I here?"

"You like to get right to things, don't you? Well, you are here because I pulled you away from It. Now you must stay here to become strong enough. Otherwise, It will not only destroy you, but the entire world." Liam suddenly realized who he was standing before.

"Hold on, if you are who you say you are, why don you just go defeat It right now?"

"Because, my son, that is not my role. I serve to defend the balance of the universe. Just as it is equipped as the great warrior of evil, so too must the greatest warrior of peace and goodness be equipped. That is why you are here."

"Come again?"

This all seemed like too much for Liam to take in. This being had just said he was here and it had something to do with the greatest good warrior in existence.

"See, we need time to save the universe." This angered Liam. He had to get back to Trini. He jumped to his feet, the anger once more pouring off of him.

"But Trini, I have to save her!"

"DO NOT SHOUT AND ORDER ME AROUND!" There was golden amber glowing in the older being's eyes as he stared down at Liam. His voice was louder than thunder and the entire room shook with the light of anger seeping into the old ones face. "You have no authority here. I wish to help, but we must think first of all of existence." Liam stood for a moment, contemplating as this settled in. Then he collapsed on the bed.

"But I can't lose her. I have failed everyone. I can't do it again." The old man watched Liam with a look of pity.

"Understand, Liam, all will be revealed in time. For now, we need to focus. You must learn to unlock the potential you have been given. If not, all will be lost."

With one last sad look, Liam managed to reignite the fire in his eyes as he stood. He focused on how Trini had looked. The fear, the terror, the anger which had been imparted to her. It was due to him. It was due to his inability to stop It.

It would end here. He was going to stop It.

So Liam and the old man began to train. They worked hard for days on end, fighting and battling.

What Liam missed was the fact that 'father' had reordered time so that his months of training took no true time in the universe.

Liam also missed the gifts which the "all-father" had imparted to him. These were the gifts of a god and truly Liam was the greatest warrior the universe had ever known.

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Kimberly and the rest of the rangers appeared before the horsemen. They had been granted back their powers once more, but augmented. It felt calmer, cooler, and more powerful. Of course they all knew they would need exactly that in the coming battle.

As they came to Angel Grove, they met the horsemen. The four sat nonchalantly upon their steeds, seeming as if they could not care less.

"Hey, you four really should leave. This is not a good place to be." Tommy called out, getting the attention of the largest of the horsemen. War looked angry, yet happy. It was an incredibly confusing mix.

"And why should we do that, oh little one?"

"Because you can't destroy this town."

"And who will be stopping us?"

"We Will!" Here the rangers all charged. There were two rangers for each horsemen and soon the battle began in earnest. Tommy and Rocky began trading blows with War, Adam and Aisha were trying to fight past Conquest, Zach and Kat were trading blows with Famine, and Kimberly, Jason, and Billy were fighting weapon to scythe with Death.

Of course the battles were far from over. Each of the horsemen began to use their power. War's skin turned pale as snow. As it did, her strength and bloodlust grew. She began not only to fight with, but to beat down Tommy and Rocky. Conquest began calling down plagues to aid his fight with Adam and Aisha, Famine tipped his scales and left Kat and Zach both feeling incredibly weakened, and Death wrapped her dark aura around Billy, Jason, and Kimberly, leaving them lost and losing.

As Zordon watched on with Alpha, he began losing hope. So many years he had fought this, yet here it seemed inevitable. Then he felt a presence. One he had not felt in some time.

"Welcome Father."

"Hello Zordon."

"May I ask how I can help you?"

"With him." Suddenly the old man waved a hand and Liam appeared on the floor. The young man seemed exhausted, lost in sleep. "He has been training with me. The fates have granted me the chance to give him the abilities necessary to succeed, but he will need guidance. And support. Unfortunately, both of those will only come in time. Please help him."

With a flash the old man was gone, leaving Zordon staring down at the worn out figure of Liam. What was he supposed to do now?


	8. Chapter 8: Rest

Liam lay in a cold, dark room. Everything around him was sad. There was no happiness here.

But there were voices calling to him. Sounds from all over. He could sense his body fighting to get to them. His spirit wanted to help. The voices sounded sad, almost in pain.

Then there was a shock of bright light and Liam bolted upright. As he opened his eyes and took in the scene, Liam realized that he was sitting on the floor of the command center. Alpha was hovering over him and Zordon was calling to him. As his eyes opened, the two seemed to let out sighs of relief.

Then Liam began to cry. It was not outright sobbing, but the sad tears fell and both Zordon and Alpha could sense them.

"Whats wrong Liam?"

"I failed. Again. I failed my friends. Now I have failed Trini." He paused as he noticed the viewing globe and the torture that the other rangers seemed to be going through. His expression fell a bit more. "And I failed them. I'm failing the universe Zordon." There was a sad lost look in his eyes which Zordon could not ignore.

"Liam, stand up please." Liam froze, looking up. This was the most peaceful interaction the two had truly had since Liam had returned with Trini. It caught him off guard before he rose, complying with Zordon's request.

"Liam, you need to have faith. You were chosen for a reason. I chose you for your spirit. The Father chose you because he trusts your ability." Zordon paused to let that sink in. Then he went on to his next statement. "Trini chose because she loves you."

Liam nearly fell over at this. He felt his body tense and it took all his concentration not to give up. He looked up at the white glowing face of Zordon before him. Then he cast a glance back to the viewing globe. Suddenly Zordon felt the energy filling the room. In a flash, Liam was gone. Zordon and Alpha heard his words ringing out as Liam teleported away.

"Thank you Zordon."

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"Come now, surely you can do better than that?" War taunted the rangers. The horsemen had thrown them all into a group in a corner, nearing a wall. With their backs to it and feeling the beatings they had received, the rangers felt there was no hope. Of course, being rangers meant they would not be giving up so easily. They would be fighting until the end. All struggling, they rose to their feet and took stances to face the horsemen.

Suddenly there was a blinding light. As it cleared, everyone turned to face the newest player in the game.

Before them stood Liam. He had morphed, but this was different. His new outfit had what appeared to be a cape. He wore a black breastplate with a flowing white cape. Strapped to his side was a sword. And rather than a full helmet, his new outfit merely had a visor covering his eyes. But what caught their attention the most was not the outfit, but the strength pouring from him as he stood wearily before the horsemen.

And the horsemen shook. There was a moment of true fear in their eyes. They had faced him before and it had been a close fight. Now there was enough energy pouring off of him without even fighting that they knew they stood no chance. Of course as the old saying went, theirs was not to reason why, theirs was but to do or die.

With a cold cackle, the voice of death spoke out across the land. "So be it, ranger. If you want your friends back, come and get them. But you shall have to defeat us all, just as before. To save your friends means to run the gauntlet."

With that, a black mist consumed the area, darkening everything. Then Liam's light cut through it, clearing the area. All that was left before him was the great horseman, War. War drew its weapons.

"This should be fun." With no warning, War took off, charging down upon the much smaller ranger. Liam merely stood there, waiting. In the last instant, he stepped to the side. It was a neat side-step of not only War's weapon, but her horse as well. Liam reacted by grasping the great pike and ripping it from War's grasp.

War quickly pulled her steed around to face the ranger, her already white skin turning the purest white possible while her eyes became the deepest blood red. She drew her great sword to charge again as Liam drew his own. As the two came to clash, War was amazed with the speed the ranger moved. He deflected War's blow, parrying it neatly to the side and then spoke.

"I'm sorry."

With that, War felt the blade pierce her heart. There was a burning sensation. That had always been the pain before. Horsemen couldn't be killed previously because they had not been alive. When IT had imbued the elemental rangers with the power of the horsemen, they became living beings.

In the instant that Liam's sword struck War's heart, the horseman screamed in pain. The power of the horseman left, true defeat filling its eyes. In its stead stood a tall woman with green skin. Her eyes were filling with something Liam recognized.

Peace.

"Thank you Liam. I knew you would save us."

With that, Denalt closed her eyes. Liam could feel her die and felt his heart breaking. As he wiped away a tear, he heard a vicious cackle. His eyes rose to see the black eyes of IT watching him from Trini's body.

"It would seem you have made this far more interesting, Ranger."

With that, IT was gone. Liam stood, sheathing his sword. He walked toward the nearest source of power he could feel. He knew it was conquest.

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Liam arrived in a large room. Before him stood a great white horse and upon its back sat Conquest. There was a smug grin on the man's face as his crown sat sloppily to the side.

"I see War lost. Pity, she was fun." Conquest watched Liam, hoping for some sort of reaction. When the ranger merely walked toward him, he became frustrated.

"Come now Liam, you always were more fun than this. Don't hold back on me now. Tell me all about how you are going to win, going to save the world, the universe, all that cocky shit you used to spit out."

Once again, there was no reaction from Liam besides the growth of his aura. Conquest could see the room becoming enveloped in the white light. Growing tired of this, He drew his bow.

"Well, it's your funeral." With that, he drew the bow into a great pull before releasing the arrow to fly fast and true straight for the ranger. As it neared its target, there was a blinding flash. Conquest smiled. It was fast than he had expected, but it seemed the ranger was not as tough as he first appeared.

The smile fell as the light cleared. Still walking toward him was the ranger, in all his glory, grasping the arrow tightly by his side. Conquest grew angry. Calling forth all his power, he called the swarms to him.

"As conquest and pestilence, you will not win!" With that, conquest sent the swarm to attack and blind the ranger while he drew his bow yet again and let fly another arrow. Conquest began to laugh as the room darkened.

His victory was short lived however. As he turned away from his now, he thought, defeated quarry, he found himself face to face with the midnight black visor of the ranger. Before conquest could react, a powerful hand shot up and ripped conquest off of his horse.

"Goodbye." It was the only word Liam spoke in the encounter. As his sword struck home, piercing conquest through the heart, there was a scream. In that instant, conquest could see the tear flowing down Liam's cheek. As the power of conquest left, all that was left was a young man. He had sharp ears, appearing very similar to elves from earthen lore. There was a smile on his face as he grinned up at the ranger.

"I knew you'd save us one day. You always were the cocky one." There was a small cough before reaching a soothing hand out to the now weeping Liam. "But you back it up. Thank you."

"Goodbye Talsik, you will be missed." Once again, Liam's sorrow was interrupted by the high pitched crackle. He did not even bother to look, merely heading in the direction he knew Famine to be in.

"Come now, Liam. Surely you can't just walk away from me." Suddenly Trini was before him, walking toward him seductively. It took everything in him not to reach out to her as he strode past. But he controlled himself, earning a frustrated snort from IT. "Fine then, continue this journey to kill your friends." And IT was gone. Liam felt his head drop. It had taken him far too long to reach this point. He was killing them.

But he knew deep down he was also saving them.

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Liam walked slowly out into the open space. He was standing before the Angel Grove Youth Center and saw the skinny form of Famine sitting on his horse across from him. In his hand was the scale. Liam knew what would happen next.

"Hello Ranger." With that, Liam saw the scales begin to tip. As they did, he felt his energy draining. He focused, drawing all as close to him as he could. In the process, he kept stalking toward Famine. The skinny man had a look of victory on his face.

The look faded after a few minutes. As Liam continued walking, you could see the frustration growing in Famine. He caused the scales to tip even more. Liam felt his body affected by it. He felt his energy begin to truly drain. He began drawing energy into himself from around him as he felt the strength ebbing away.

Famine now had a look of fear as the ranger kept stalking forward. He had tipped the scale as far as was possible. The ranger should be flat on the ground by now. Instead, the glowing figure was strolling forward as if nothing was wrong. Famine drew his own sword, preparing to fight and hoping that the walking was merely an act.

In the process of his first strike, Famine felt Liam falter to block it. There was a look of victory in Famine's face. The look cost the horseman, however. He paused and in that instant, Liam swung at the scale and knocked it from Famine's hand. The scales balanced out and Liam stood tall, returned to his original power. It had taken a great deal of energy and the area around him reflected that as the plants looked prepared to die.

Liam knocked aside Famine's feeble attempt to block his blow before driving his sword once more through the heart of a friend.

Once more, there was a scream as the energy of Famine left the body, leaving a purple being with a large head and skinny body behind.

"Thank you Liam. I needed that."

Liam once again felt the tears beginning to flow. As he felt Wastal die in his arms, he carefully laid the body down.

"Goodbye old friend."

Once more there was a cackle. Liam merely turned and headed toward the youth center, knowing that was where Death would be waiting. There were no words from Trini this time. Had Liam stopped to look, he would have seen the anger and frustration in IT's face.

Instead, he was focused on saving her friends.

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Walking into the Youth Center, Liam immediately noticed that all of the rangers were sitting in chairs around the room. While they all appeared to be conscious, Death's aura trapped them to the chairs and kept them from speaking. The looks in their eyes were relief, however, as they fell upon Liam.

Liam, however, was focused on the being in the center of the room. Death stood there, her aura dark around her and scythe in hand. The look on her face was one of sorrow.

"I should take one from you."

The statement cause Liam to pause.

"Why?"

"To remind you of how serious this is."

Liam merely looked on as Death began to move forward. She floated toward the collection of rangers and for the first time since this battle began, Liam felt fear. He drew his sword.

"I'll fight for their lives."

This caused Death to look at him with a grim smile on her face.

"So be it."

With that, both figures moved to the ring. The rangers looked on in fear, unsure of what would come next. As the battle began, it was apparent that both beings were here till the death. As their blows struck one another, there was an energy released unlike anything seen before. The room shook.

But there was more going on. As they fought, death's aura began to move and close in on the rangers tied to the chairs. It reached Kimberly first. She felt it tugging at her. Suddenly she felt a pressure on her chest. Without looking, she knew it was death coming to take her. There were tears in her eyes until her gaze met Liam's. While his face showed no emotion, there was strength in his eyes. In that same moment, she felt Death's aura retreating. She felt surrounded by a warm glow.

The other rangers went through similar experiences. Each time, death tried to take them and Liam intervened.

And the fight continued. As both fighters seemed to becoming wary, Liam struck one last time. As death had raised her scythe to take his head when he fell to his knees, he struck straight through her heart. There was a blood curdling scream as Death's energy left. All that was left behind was a slender woman, pale as snow with hair as bright as the sun.

"Thank you Liam. I always knew you would save us."

"Goodbye Valent." And Liam cried as the final of the elemental rangers died.

And he collapsed. As the rest of the rangers rushed to his side, there was a sharp cackle. Everyone turned to see Trini standing on the ropes of the ring in the Angel Grove Youth Center. The being, with black eyes, merely stared at the collection of rangers. They were all gathered around Liam, helping him to his feet.

"What do you want?" There was venom in Kimberly's voice as she stared at the being inhabiting her best friend.

"Me? Nothing. I merely came to watch him die."

The rangers gasped a bit when they heard that. It was Jason who spoke next.

"What do you mean?"

"Come now, the man just fought death."

'Yeah, but he won!"

"True, he did, but not before killing himself. See, Death tried to take each of you. Rather than letting you die, young Liam here took your punishment. He could handle quite a bit, seeing as he is life force and all. But saving all of you? Well it was a bit too much."

The room fell silent, everyone staring at one another. Suddenly it jumped forward, landing like a cat before them.

"Stop!" There was authority in the voice. It was strength no one had heard before.

And it came from Liam. It was even enough for IT to stop moving. The room froze as the two faced off.

Then, with a grin, IT drew a spear from thin air and threw it toward Kimberly.

Kimberly froze, knowing she couldn't avoid it and she would be dead soon. She closed her eyes.

Suddenly she was wrapped in a warm energy. She felt it carry her off, safely away, as the spear thrust never came. She opened her eyes to see herself and the rest of the rangers gathered around the command center. There was a shout from Alpha which led all of the rangers to jump before rushing to the viewing globe.

"So begins the final battle" said Zordon.


End file.
